Together Forever
by LavenderSpice
Summary: Hio mio in a completely new place and story extremely -OC- . Health problems, new conflicts, and an interesting friend come together in my first fan fiction. Thanx for the reviews!
1. Hospitalized

My first story! It's kinda weird, but I hope you like it. Hio in a whole different place, eh? Review please.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything :sniff:

_Hospitalized_

Hio turned around taking in everything around her. "Where am I?" She asked herself this as she kicked off her flip-flops and stroked the soft ground with her toes. She was surrounded by oak trees. They were huge and their bark told solitude of many seasons. They were draped with leafy vines and moss. The air felt heavy with water and there was a mysterious mist floating inches above the ground. Hio walked a little more noticing the soft toadstools and grass under her feet.

She walked up to an oak and threw her arms around it. It was so huge that her arms barely covered a fraction of its trunk. "This is amazing," she whispered, "It's so peaceful here." She spun around and ran straight through a curtain of hanging moss.

Suddenly she stopped and stared, her pearl-gray eyes widening at the sight before her. She had stopped on the edge of a cliff. Hio fell back and frantically scrambled away from the edge. She was horrified at the thought of what almost happened.

Once she had taken a few deep breaths she was able to gaze at the scene around her. To her right was a waterfall that flowed into a pool. Then out a river which continued until it disappeared on the horizon. She suddenly found the pounding of the waterfall peaceful and majestic. She settled down on a patch of green grass and drifted off to sleep.

-xOx-

Hio was lying on a bed in a small hospital room. The walls were gray, and nothing was really colorful except for some flowers and cards that she had gotten from her friends. Right now the usually boring day was cut short by an emergency.

"The medicine isn't working," Doctor Mandez said as he sized up the situation in the reigning chaos, "Mary, check the IV. Susan, get the machine up and running. Come on people we're going to lose her!" He checked his patient's heart beat again. It was running unusually slow and if it kept at that rate for much longer there would be little hope for her.

The doctor was starting to lose hope when his head nurse, Mary, spoke up, "Doctor, look, her heart beat is starting to even out." Sure enough it finally rested on the proper beat. Everyone in the room let out a sigh of relief.

Dr. Mandez looked down at the young fourteen-year-old girl on the bed and smiled, "Hio?"

"Yes doctor," she replied in a hoarse whisper, her eyes flickering open, "Is everything okay? Will I be healthy again?"

"For right now, yes," the doctor said and then turned and walked out of the room to inform her parents. Mary went with him and then it was only Susan left in the room with her.

Susan was a new nurse who had just started when Hio was first sent to the hospital. She was a petite young woman with curly brown hair and green eyes. She talked with an English accent and once they had met they became immediate friends. The nurse was a sense of comfort for Hio when she was going through something painful or lonely.

She used to get a lot of visits from various people, but soon only her family and some close friends visited. She missed having company, and she especially missed her older brother. Luke had always played with her and had tried to be a good brother. He was probably playing soccer right now. She could picture him racing across the field.

Hio just sat on the hospital bed staring at the long blank wall that stretched before her. Her eyes hardly blinked and never left the gray plane. Thinking about the past just made her unhappy. She felt as though her life had suddenly turned into a black hole. She was being sucked deeper and deeper into the swirling black, rarely reaching the light. She could feel her body wearing away day after day. Today she had been lucky, but what about tomorrow? Thinking about the future only scared her more.

"Susan?" Hio finally peeled her eyes away from the wall to stare at her hands which were resting her lap, "Did you have a happy childhood?" Hio was wondering if everyone had a better life than her.

Susan sat down in a chair beside the bed and began, "Hmmm...I was born in America and grew up with my god parents in England." Hio just stared at her, listening. Susan continued, "I loved school and learned how to speak three languages fluently." Hio thought of how she had only been interested in sports.

Susan then got up and adjusted the IV stand and the position of her bed. She walked around and got everything organized and neat while Hio just sat there, thinking. Then Susan sat down again with her eyes closed and quietly spoke, "After I had gone to college I came back here looking for my parents," she took a deep breath and continued, "They had been in a fatal car crash right before I came."

Tears were forming in her eyes and Hio took her hand in hers. They sat there and then Susan looked up and green eyes locked with pearl-gray eyes.

"Nobody's life is perfect," she said. Then she got up, wiped her eyes, and bustled out of the room. Hio thought it was wise to let her have a few moments alone. So she laid back and closed her eyes.

-xOx-

I hope you like the next one, and the friend that appears. Reviews please. :-D


	2. A Dream?

Here is the second chapter.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own it, I promise.

_A Dream?_

Hio rubbed her forehead and sat up. She was sitting down on a patch of soft grass and she could here a waterfall. "Where...?" Then she remembered her dream earlier. She glanced around. "Well as long as I'm here I should explore," she said to her self as she slowly stood up and stretched her legs.

That was when she looked down and realized she wasn't in the same clothes as in the hospital. She was wearing a pair of jeans, sneakers, and a soft lavender sweater. She also realized that she felt like she had a lot of energy and a new purpose in life. She jumped up and down a couple of times. Then she took off back into the forest running. Her feet were pounding the ground as hard and fast as she could muster.

She ran on and on over stumps and leaves. She had so much energy and not a bone in her body hurt. "This is so amazing," she shouted as she started to slow down. The fact that she didn't ache was a miracle. Finally she stopped in front of a huge funny looking rock. She laid down on her back and stared up at the sky.

Although she had run really far and fast she only needed a couple of deep breaths to get back to her normal breathing. "This has to be a dream," she told herself over and over, but somehow it didn't feel true. Everything was too vivid and real. The sky was so blue and the cloud looked so fluffy. The grass glinted with dew and the moss felt soft and damp under her.

Hio sat up again and looked at the rock. It was oddly deformed shaped like an arch, wide at the base on the right side, and eventually getting small and thin on the left side. It was about fifteen feet tall so it towered over her. It looked like it had small squiggly lines on it. She got up and looked close at one of the squiggly lines. It was writing, in another language.

"What is this," she pondered aloud.

"It is the rock of prophecies. All of the things that happen in this world are vaguely recorded before they happen. At the beginning of time everything in the future was written down on this rock." She glanced around for the source of the voice and she spotted a large panther.

It was completely black with an odd orange spot on its left ear. She stared at the large cat before her and then whispered, "H-hello? Did you say that?" She didn't completely expect an answer but it opened its mouth and said, "Um, yes. I said that. I know a lot about this world since I have lived here all of my life. Are you okay? You look kind of pale."

It was right, for while it talked the blood had rushed from her face. "B-but you are a cat." She was barely able to get the words out. "Well I am a panther to be exact and my name is Coal if you must know." Coal walked toward her and then sat down a few feet away. "What is your name?" Hio stood up and said, "Hio, my name is Hio, and I am a...human."

"A human?" Coal got up and sniffed her and walked around her, "Hello, Hio. So where to now?" He stretched his back legs and tilted his head in a questioning way, waiting for an answer.

"Well, um, I'd like to know why this strange rock is here, and what it means." She walked over to the rock and placed her hand on it.

Coal followed her and sighed, "As I told you before it is the rock of prophecies. If it wasn't so vague then maybe I'd understand it half the time, but what I have discovered recently is really odd. It includes a newcomer who stands on two feet, and a creature with a spot. The newcomer is obviously you, but who is this "spotted one"?"

Coal got up and paced around the rock thinking. After a few circles Hio realized something she had seen before. Suddenly she bounced up and down, "The "spotted one" is you," she exclaimed, "You have an odd orange spot on your left ear!"

He turned his head around trying to look for the spot. "Where? I can't see it." Then he gave up and looked at Hio. Coal looked as if to cock one eye brow (I don't really think a panther can do that), "Odd?"

Hio scrambled to say something, "Well...I've never seen anything like it." She could tell from the panther's eyes that he was just teasing her, and she exhaled a huge breath...

-xOx-

Sorry to end on a small, weird cliff hanger. :-/ Review please.


	3. The Prophecy is Spoken

To remind you where I left off: She had just met Coal and then exhaled, now Continue!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own it,

Naruto: Believe It!

Me: Sure...

_The Prophecy is Spoken_

Hio leaned her back against the rock and closed her eyes. Then she opened them, abruptly turned around, and began to read something off the rock.

_These chosen two will come together. _

_Friends will be made for forever. _

_Dark and light will fight each other, _

_And one's earthly world will end_

While she read her eyes turned an empty dark gray. It was a big change from her lively pearl-gray and Coal couldn't believe his eyes. She spoke in a humdrum tone that seemed far away. When she was done Coal was extremely concerned and he put one of his paws on her chest, "Are you okay?"

Hio snapped from her trance and smiled at Coal, "I'm fine, but that felt a little weird." She stretched her arms and sat down.

Coal curled up beside her and bluntly stated, "You weirded me out for sure." Hio looked down and glared at the back of his head, "It's not like I did that on purpose! It felt like something took hold of me and used my body as a vessel."

She shivered, it wasn't a pleasant feeling and she wished she could forget it, but Coal had to bring it up. "That was definitely a prophecy," he said, "The chosen two means us, and friends forever means us again. When do dark and light fight? I don't know how that is possible, and one' earthly world will end. Either we're going to die, or a world is going to be destroyed."

Hio sighed, "You didn't have to be so blunt about the dieing," she complained to him, "You could say passed away, or went to a happier place, like my parents did when my grandmother died." Hio got up and so did Coal.

She was hungry and asked where the closest stream was. He told her about a watering hole, and they were on their way. It was a long trek and they found themselves talking more and more about a variety of things. They felt completely fine and safe, but were they?

-xOx-

A giant snow leopard paced the edge of the cliff next to the waterfall. She was close, very close. Suddenly she turned around, walked away, and then began running toward the edge. She was a foot away from the steep drop of the cliff when she leaped into the air. Seconds later her front paws and then her back paws hit the grass. She could smell its sent because it had been in this exact spot not too long ago.

She was Akira the snow leopard that was completely blank white, except for the red dot on the tip of her tail. She came from a different world of death and destruction. There she was known as Akira the Huntress. She was the hunter of life which she destroyed in such lands as this, but to consume this world she would have to defeat its protector. She had heard it was a large black panther who was marked with a spot of protection.

Her claws were itching to sink into his neck and feel the warm blood dripping from her tongue and staining her white snout. _I can not defeat him because the creator of this world can give him the power to defeat me, _she thought. So she was tracking the girl.

"I'll have you soon enough, my little girly friend," she growled to herself and laughed evilly, which came out as a hoarse hacking sound.

-xOx-

Hio and Coal arrived at the watering hole, a little pond. The water was crystal clear and it looked as if moonlight was captured in its deeps. Coal took a few laps and then looked at Hio, "I'm going to get some blueberries. I think you'd really like them."

He bounded off leaving Hio sitting there with the moonlight water dripping from her chin. "Well that was sudden," she murmured to herself. She scooped up some more water. It was actually better than water and it tasted more pure and rich than anything she had ever had. She decided to call it moon juice and sat there thinking to herself about pleasant thoughts while waiting for Coal to return.

Then she heard a rustle in the bushes on the other side of the pond. "Hello? Coal?" She was a little uneasy after hearing no reply. Then something stepped out from behind the bushes.

First there was a paw and then a whole cat came out. It was a little bigger than Coal and it looked like a snow leopard with no spots. Its coat was pure white with a red dot on the tip of its tail.

"Who are you?" Hio could barely get the words out. For some reason she had the sudden impulse to run with all her heart, but she knew she couldn't outrun it and her feet felt like cement blocks.

"I am Akira the Huntress. I need to take this world and Coal's life with it. Before I can do that I need to dispose of you." While she talked she took a few steps forward. Hio's eyes widened and her heart filled with fear. She couldn't bare it. She had to get away, so she scrambled to her feet and ran towards the rock of prophecies.

-xOx-

:laughs evilly: Akira is so evil! Thanks to KL for the name insiration. Reviews please :-D


	4. Sacrifice and Life

Last chapter! Hope you enjoy. Reviews please.

**Discliamer: **I own nothing, still_  
_

_Sacrifice and Life_

Once she got to the clearing with the rock she tripped and fell. Akira was there a second later her eyes narrowed. "I had hoped you would be more cooperative, but it can't be helped." She began walking slowly toward Hio. Crouching down she took step after step. When she was only a few feet away she got ready to pounce. Right before she did her eyes flashed and Hio cried out in anguish. Suddenly Coal burst out from the trees into the clearing. He immediately seized up the situation and pounced on Akira. They became a tumbling mess of white and black while both tried to scratch and hurt the other. Hio watched them. She was worrying about Coal when it dawned on her. _Dark and light will fight each other. _She looked at the rock and realized the prophecy had come true and they were fighting right now. She turned back to the fight in time to see Coal fall. He laid there motionless.

"No," Hio screamed with all her might, "No!" The air around them picked up forced and a strange like began to shin around her. The mysterious glow then flowed from her to Coal. It engulfed his motionless body and lifted him in the air, which had slowly calmed. Akira's stared at Coal's floating body and then looked at Hio. _She's giving him the power, _she realized, _The power is her own life force!_

_-_xOx-_  
_

"The tumor in her brain is getting worse and affecting her heart," Dr. Mandez said to the nurses in the operating room. They were operating on Hio as a last resort after her sudden collapse in the hospital hallway. "Come on people we have to keep trying or we're going to lose her!"

-xOx-

Coal's eyes opened and he lowered to the ground. He calmly stalked over to Akira. The orange spot on his left ear glowed and his gazed pierced through to Akira's soul. "IT'S OVER," he bellowed and lashed out at her throat. She barely managed to avoid the attack. He then jumped, pinned her down, and raked at her belly.

"You will not poison this world any longer!" With that slammed down on her so hard her body crumpled, but the red dot on her tail was pulsing. "It can't be," she desperately moaned, "It can't be over." Akira looked over at the arch. _It's a portal back to my home world, _she thought. Sure enough the arch was glowing purple and the portal within it was activated.

The portal was sucking her body into it. Akira screamed in agony and was gone. Coal padded over to the motionless body a few yards away. His orange dot was normal and so was he. He softly nudged Hio's body. "Hio? Oh Hio!" He had done all of this for her. She was his one true friend since he was born in this world. She was his friend. His mind was a swirling chaos as her stared at her blank eyes that were once full of life. A single tear dropped onto her cheek and he laid down next to her.

-xOx-

"She's gone," Hio's mother whispered, "Her life has ended." She broke into tears. Hio's father looked up at the doctor and then said to his wife, "Yes, her body has left this earthly world forever." With that he held his wife and they mourned their daughter's death together.

-xOx-

Hio rolled up her pants and waded into the water. "So my earthly world ended, and we are friends forever," she said and then squealed at the icy water. "Yes that prophecy came true, but you didn't have to scare me like that." Coal splashed into the water and purred.

"It wasn't my choice," Hio stuck her nose in the air, "I had to give you the rest of my strength." She giggled and rubbed behind his ears. Coal purred louder and Hio put her arms around his neck. "We'll be here together forever, Coal." "Yes we will Hio, together forever," he splashed again and she laughed. They were truly happy in there own special heaven.

_Fin_

__ That's the end! The parents were a little dramatic, but I hoped everyone thought it was good! Thanx for the reviews.

Naruto: Believe It!

Me: Uhhhhhh...


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